Apparatus for tempering or hardening steel.



PATBNTED MAY 15, 1906.

H. H. BICKPORD. APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING OR HARDENING STEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1905.

. iNVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY UNITED. STATES PATENT orrrcn.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented-May '15, 1906.

-. A pplicatinn:filed Jnuafi; 1905- Serial No. 263,970.

Be it known that I, HIRAM HBmnFon a citizen of'zthe United .States,-:residing at Elmira, in the county ofOhemungand Stateof New York, have invented certain new-and useful. Improvements in Apparatus for Tem pering or Hardening :Steel, ofwhichthe following is aspecifioation. v

Thiszinvention relates :to lmprovements jin apparatus for tempering orhardenlng tools or implements of steel where it is required that certain portions thereof shall beof j-hardmetal and'others-of soft metal in-one homogeneous piece, and has to .do more "particular an apparatus tow-be used am prepar ng sawblades, such as .described in my Letters Pat ent No. 657,155, datedSe'ptemberA, 19.00.

The object of'my invention --is to-pr0vide vmeans for shielding certain portions of the metal from .contactwith-the temper ng .or 1.-

hardening liquid and retaining such portions while in contact with the liquid at approxlmately the same temperature to which the metal was heated before submitting it to the liquid :bath.

I attain my tus arranged and operated substantia y in the manner illustratedin the-accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 re resents a side view of an apparatus particu arly designed for tempering or hardening the alternate sections of the aforesaid saW-blades; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same, showing the manner of suspending the apparatus over the bath and with one end of the shield-clamp sectioned on the line :10 m in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail showing a section through the shields on line 1 y in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 a detail showing a portion of an enlarged section on the line :1; a; in Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

The apparatus, as herein illustrated, comprises a frame made up of a pair of longitudinally-disposed angle-bars A A, along the under side of which are arranged pipes B. The angle-bars are attached near each end to pairs of levers C, which are coupled to ether by hinge-joints at D. At the top the evers are coupled to toggle-arms E, WlllCll are coupled to short arms projecting from opposite sides of the shaft S, said shaft being rovided with a hand-lever F, whereby the sliaft may be rotated to draw the levers C together, thereby throwing the pipes B apart to admit object by means of an ap arai .clampinig etweenithechambered shieldslK, which are attached to and dependfrom said pipes.

cables G fromqan overhead carrier, whereby it may berelevated fromthe bath-tank N and moved to one side thereof. By way of illus- Ltration I have shown these chains in Fig. 2 as passing overa pair of sprocket-wheels H with counterbalanclng-weights I attached to .the free-ends. At each end the sprocket-shafts .are providedwith sprocket-wheels which ride ,on supporting-racks J. This arrangement, however, is shown here merely by Way of illus- -.-tration .of .one way to operate the device. When the plate L is in position between the clamping-shields, the parts will assume the -posit1ons-shown in Fig. 2, andit will be noted that the toggle-arms E are inclined down -wardly, so that the weight of the apparatus as it hangs from the chains-Gwill act through said arms to force said shields into close gripping engagement with the plate.

From the pipes B passages run .to the chambers on each side of the ,plate formed by the hollow shields K, said passages being rovided with valves at M, the stems of which valves project inwardly, so .as to engage the faces of the plate when the shields are in position to .open the valves. When the shie ds are thrown away from the plate,

This air is delivered to said pipes from a source of supply through a central pipe W, from which branch pipes T pass from a swiveljoint U to the pipes B at each side of the apparatus. A valve V is interposed for shuttinlg ofi the air-supply.

t one side of the tank N, I have indicated a table or bench at 0 upon which the plates L will be delivered from a heating-furnace to the tempering apparatus. At the end of this table adjacent to the tank I provide an upending device for the plates, which consists of upright stationary arms R and one or more trip-arms Q, operated by a lever P. By this device as the plates are passed along the table 0 in horizontal position they will be brought up against the uprights R, and by pulling down upon the lever P the arm Q will throw said plates into vertical position, as indicated at L.

In the operation of tempering after a plate heated to the required degree of temperature has been placed in position by the trip at the end of the bench O the shield will be moved The apparatus 18 suspended by chains or.

the valves will be closed by the pressure of the air which passes through the pipes B.

bers at a pressure just sufficient to keep the liquid of the bath from entering the chambers. A slight leakage of the air will take place around the edges of the jaws K, and this will cause a suflicient circulation of heat ed air in contact with the protected portions of the plate to maintain said portions at approximately the same temperature while in the bath. After being immersed in the bath a sufficient len th of time the apparatus will be raised therefrom and moved-to the right, the shield-jaws opened, and the plate dropped therefrom between the tank and the bench 0, after which another plate will be taken from the bench and the operation repeated. Instead of submerging the plates in the bath the bath may be so arranged as to have the cooling liquid sprayed against the plates While this apparatus is more particularly designed for use in the manufacture of sawblades of the type described from plates of high carbon steel, I do not wish to be confined to this application of it. The idea of protecting certain portions of a plate, bar, or body of metal from contact with a tempering or hardening liquid and excluding the liquid therefrom by air I believe to be new. More over, the apparatus may be constructed in various ways to adapt it to the tempering or hardening of various tools and appliances where the metal is required to be hard in certain portions and soft in others.

Therefore what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a tempering or hardening bath, means for protecting certain portions of a plate, bar or other body of.

metal, while subjected to the bath, from contact with the li uid of the bath and excluding said liquid 'rom said protected portions by air delivered to the protected surfaces from a source of supply.

2. The combination, with a tempering or hardening bath, of a hollow shield adapted to form an air-chamber when in contact with the surface of a plate, bar or other body of metal, which is to be subjected to the bath, and means for supplying said chamber with air, at such a pressure that the liquid of the bath will'be excluded therefrom. j

3. The combination, with a tempering or hardening bath, of a plurality of hollow shields, means for clamping said shields upon opposite sides of the plate, bar or other body of metal which is to be subjected to the bath, and means for delivering air to the chambers so formed at a pressure sufiicient to exclude therefrom the liquid of the bath.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

H. H. BICKFORD,

Witnesses:

BENNING BUELL, GEORGE S. VEAZIE. 

